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Kansas Unveils New Plan To Recruit Teachers

EducateKansas.org

Kansas' new plan to recruit more teachers kicked off Tuesday with a series of YouTube videos.

Kansas has been struggling with keeping veteran teachers and luring students into teacher prep programs.

Related: Kansas Is Becoming A Hard Place To Teach, So Teachers Are Crossing The State Line

A blue ribbon panel last year recommended a marketing campaign. The Kansas Department of Education kicked it off with a video from Commissioner Randy Watson, who says he’s asked all the time, how do you become a teacher?

"The staff of the Kansas State Department of Education and I frequently hear from people who are interested in become teachers. But they just aren’t sure how to get started,“ he says in the video. "So we developed a one-stop shop website that details the many pathways to this great profession."

Turns out there are 13 ways to becoming a certified teacher in Kansas.

The blue ribbon report said a quarter of Kansas teachers have less than five years of experience, and fewer and fewer students are entering teaching programs in college.

Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR and the Kansas News Service and is co-host of the political podcast Statehouse Blend Kansas. Follow him on Twitter @SamZeff.

Sam covers education for KCUR and the Kansas News Service. Before joining the station in August 2014 he covered health and education for KCPT.